General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Contrast pre-Iraq war views of Bob Graham and the Clintons. We need to remember. [View all]Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)That's not necessarily a knock because I understand politics is a game and the most successful know how to win at it. Obviously the Clintons, specifically Bill, are very good at this and I suspect Hillary, on the whole, has learned a lot from his ability to win. Even now, even after 8 years of his presidency and 13 years of his post-presidency, I still don't know what he truly believes.
Bill Clinton is a politician at heart. He'll say whatever whenever to get elected or advance his own cause. It was on full display in 1992 when, during the heat of the campaign, he jetted back to Arkansas to oversee the execution of Ricky Ray Rector. It was entirely politically motivated and a direct response to the Dukakis debate debacle in 1988.
When it comes to Iraq and foreign policy, who knows what the Clintons really believe? Did they support the war because, as Bill mentioned, Bush had the U.S.'s intentions at heart? Or did they support it because, in 2004, they knew down the road Hillary would be running and they couldn't have ever predicted the war would go as south as it did in Bush's second term?
I don't think we'll ever know because, again, everything is calculating with the Clintons.